Guilford County Schools asks for $44 million increase from county in proposed budget

Guilford County Schools is asking for an increase of nearly $44 million from the county in its proposed budget.

Officials say more funding is needed in part, to offset the cost of students going to charter schools. 

The proposed budget totals roughly $947 million, with nearly a third intended to come from county commissioners. The district’s local request is 16% higher from the current year. 

Officials say that’s largely due to increases in local teacher supplements and pay raises for classified staff, like bus drivers and custodians. The higher request also covers expenses related to security equipment. 

But as Superintendent Whitney Oakley explained at a recent press conference, another reason is that more students are going to charter schools. 

"We're seeing these downward trends in public school enrollment and increases in charter school enrollment, which has a pretty significant impact on our budget," she said. "Since 18-19 enrollment declined from about 71,000 students to 66,000 students. And it's important to know that charter school enrollment increased from over 7,000 students to over 11,000 students in Guilford County.”

The district is required to transfer a portion of its budget to charter schools, based on the number of students in the area who attend them. This year, that will be about 5% of its total budget — nearly $47 million. 

Officials aim to make up for that loss with a portion of the funds requested from the county. 

In the overall budget, Chief Financial Officer Tyler Beck says capital investments are another priority, with roughly $11 million set aside for things like building repairs and HVAC replacements. 

“We need to maintain and repair our facilities in a manner that does not lead to an enormous deferred capital backlog," Beck said. "Our employees need equipment and facilities that allow them to carry out their duties in a safe, productive manner, so that our students thrive academically.”

Multiple schools have had to cancel instruction unexpectedly in the last academic year due to failing HVAC systems. Back in January, students and parents came out to a Board of Education meeting to raise awareness of poor building conditions in their school. 

The district will hold a public hearing on the proposed budget on April 8.

Amy Diaz covers education for WFDD in partnership with Report For America. You can follow her on Twitter at @amydiaze.